Arutyunian, Accused Georgian Assassin, On the Docket

Vladimir Arutyunian, a citizen of the former Soviet state of Georgia, is to go on trial Monday in the capital city of Tblisi for attempting to assassinate President George W. Bush, when on his visit to that country last Spring. Mr. Arutyunian admitted while in the hospital to throwing a grenade, which subsequently failed to detonate, toward President Bush and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Lizi Dzhaparidze, Mr. Arutyunian’s latest of five court appointed attorneys, asserts that he can only get a fair trial upon intervention by international organizations. The extent to which FBI authorities were involved in the investigation remains unclear. It appears, at least for the time, that federal authorities have made the decision not to pursue prosecution of Mr. Arutyunian at the present time, in favor of permitting Georgian authorities to try him within their own jurisdiction. Whether this decision holds will likely be determined upon the success in convicting Mr. Arutyunian within the Georgian court, though the federal government undoubtedly reserves the right to seek extradition pursuant to criminal indictment at any time.